Peat extraction could be mire protection

Phototrailer – Mire Habitat

True to the motto „For responsible growth" Gramoflor is focussing on sustainable peat extraction. This is based on three core questions:

1. Where does the peat come from?

Gramoflor's peat extraction sites are located in Northern Germany. From as far back as 1981 peat has been extracted here strictly in line with the "Niedersächsisches Moorschutzprogramm" (mire protection programme of Lower Saxony), and today solely areas that have already been drained and degraded are used for peat extraction. Here the term "degraded peat land" is used as opposed to intact mires.

2. How is peat extracted?

Using the original "upper and subfield process" developed by Gramoflor it is possible to already start renaturation during peat extraction. This method along with the spreading of peat moss in the subfields gives a head start for the mire typical vegetation and provides the best conditions for the development of living mires and biotopes.

3. What happens after peat extraction?

It is our goal that living mires and biotopes can develop when peat extraction has been completed. In order to guarantee this for future generations the Stiftung Lebensraum Moor (foundation mire habitat) was established in 2012. After the peat extraction is finished, the foundation will support the preservation of renaturated areas.

We know that the raw material "peat" is no everlasting resource. Therefore it is used as saving as possible for the production of substrates and potting soils. Alternative basic materials like compost or the wood fibre LIGNOFIBRE® supplement the peat ideally. By using many different components, Gramoflor succeeds in producing individual substrates that are customized to specific requirements. Today's modern culture methods in commercial horticulture enable particularly effective substrate use, so that, for example, from one cubic meter up to 350,000 vegetable plants can be produced.

Excursion: What is peat?

Peat is developing from the lower dead parts of the peat mosses where the living mire is growing.